Atheist and pundit Christopher Hitchens DEAD at 62

[Danno 1,228]

‘MILITANT PUNDIT’ CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS DIES AT 62

WASHINGTON (AP) — Christopher Hitchens, the author, essayist and polemicist who waged verbal and occasional physical battle on behalf of causes left and right and wrote the provocative best-seller “God is Not Great,” died Thursday night after a long battle with cancer. He was 62.

Hitchens death was announced in a statement from Vanity Fair magazine. The statement says he died Thursday night at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of his esophageal cancer.

“There will never be another like Christopher. A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar,” said Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. “Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls.”

A most engaged, prolific and public intellectual who enjoyed his drink (enough to “to kill or stun the average mule”) and cigarettes, he announced in June 2010 that he was being treated for cancer of the esophagus and cancelled a tour for his memoir “Hitch-22.”

Hitchens, a frequent television commentator and a contributor to Vanity Fair, Slate and other publications, had become a popular author in 2007 thanks to “God is Not Great,” a manifesto for athiests that defied a recent trend of religious works. Cancer humbled, but did not mellow him. Even after his diagnosis, his columns appeared weekly, savaging the royal family or reveling in the death of Osama bin Laden.

“I love the imagery of struggle,” he wrote about his illness in an August 2010 essay in Vanity Fair. “I sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risking my life for the good of others, instead of just being a gravely endangered patient.”

Eloquent and intemperate, bawdy and urbane, he was an acknowledged contrarian and contradiction — half-Christian, half-Jewish and fully non-believing; a native of England who settled in America; a former Trotskyite who backed the Iraq war and supported George W. Bush. But his passions remained constant and enemies of his youth, from Henry Kissinger to Mother Teresa, remained hated.

He was a militant humanist who believed in pluralism and racial justice and freedom of speech, big cities and fine art and the willingness to stand the consequences. He was smacked in the rear by then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and beaten up in Beirut. He once submitted to waterboarding to prove that it was indeed torture.

Hitchens was an old-fashioned sensualist who abstained from clean living as if it were just another kind of church. In 2005, he would recall a trip to Aspen, Colo., and a brief encounter after stepping off a ski lift.

“I was met by immaculate specimens of young American womanhood, holding silver trays and flashing perfect dentition,” he wrote. “What would I like? I thought a gin and tonic would meet the case. ‘Sir, that would be inappropriate.’ In what respect? ‘At this altitude gin would be very much more toxic than at ground level.’ In that case, I said, make it a double.”

An emphatic ally and inspired foe, he stood by friends in trouble (“Satanic Verses” novelist Salman Rushdie) and against enemies in power (Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini). His heroes included George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Gore Vidal (pre-Sept. 11). Among those on the Hitchens list of shame: Michael Moore, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong il, Sarah Palin, Gore Vidal (post Sept. 11) and Prince Charles.

“We have known for a long time that Prince Charles’ empty sails are so rigged as to be swelled by any passing waft or breeze of crankiness and cant,” Hitchens wrote in 2010 after the heir to the British throne gave a speech criticizing Galileo for the scientist’s focus on “the material aspect of reality.”

“He fell for the fake anthropologist Laurens van der Post. He was bowled over by the charms of homeopathic medicine. He has been believably reported as saying that plants do better if you talk to them in a soothing and encouraging way. But this latest departure promotes him from an advocate of harmless nonsense to positively sinister nonsense.”

Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949. His father, Eric, was a “purse-lipped“ Navy veteran known as ”The Commander”; his mother, Yvonne, a romantic who later kill herself during an extra-marital rendezvous in Greece. Young Christopher would have rather read a book. He was a “a mere weed and weakling and kick-bag“ who discovered that ”words could function as weapons” and so stockpiled them.

In college, Oxford, he met such longtime friends as authors Martin Amis and Ian McEwan and claimed to be nearby when visiting Rhodes scholar Bill Clinton did or did not inhale marijuana. Radicalized by the 1960s, Hitchens was often arrested at political rallies, was kicked out of Britain’s Labour Party over his opposition to the Vietnam War and became a correspondent for the radical magazine International Socialiam. His reputation broadened in the 1970s through his writings for the New Statesman.

Wavy-haired and brooding and aflame with wit and righteous anger, he was a star of the left on paper and on camera, a popular television guest and a columnist for one of the world’s oldest liberal publications, The Nation. In friendlier times, Vidal was quoted as citing Hitchens as a worthy heir to his satirical throne.

But Hitchens never could simply nod his head. He feuded with fellow Nation columnist Alexander Cockburn, broke with Vidal and angered freedom of choice supporters by stating that the child’s life begins at conception. An essay for Vanity Fair was titled “Why Women Aren’t Funny,” and Hitchens wasn’t kidding.

He had long been unhappy with the left’s reluctance to confront enemies or friends. He would note his strong disappointment that Arthur Miller and other leading liberals shied from making public appearances on behalf of Rushdie after the Ayatollah Khomeini called for his death. He advocated intervention in Bosnia and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

No Democrat angered him more than Clinton, whose presidency led to the bitter end of Hitchens’ friendship with White House aide Sidney Blumenthal and other Clinton backers. As Hitchens wrote in his memoir, he found Clinton “hateful in his behavior to women, pathological as a liar, and deeply suspect when it came to money in politics.”

He wrote the anti-Clinton book, “No One Left to Lie To,” at a time when most liberals were supporting the president as he faced impeachment over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Hitchens also loathed Hillary Rodham Clinton and switched his affiliation from independent to Democrat in 2008 just so he could vote against her in the presidential primary.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, completed his exit. He fought with Vidal, Noam Chomsky and others who either suggested that U.S. foreign policy had helped caused the tragedy or that the Bush administration had advanced knowledge. He supported the Iraq war, quit The Nation, backed Bush for re-election in 2004 and repeatedly chastised those whom he believed worried unduly about the feelings of Muslims.

“It’s not enough that faith claims to be the solution to all problems,” he wrote in 2009 after a Danish newspaper apologized for publishing cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that led Muslim organizations to threaten legal action. “It is now demanded that such a preposterous claim be made immune from any inquiry, any critique, and any ridicule.”

His essays were compiled in such books as “For the Sake of Argument” and “Prepared for the Worst.” He also wrote short biographies/appreciations of Paine and Thomas Jefferson, a tribute to Orwell and “Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring),“ in which he advised that ”Only an open conflict of ideas and principles can produce any clarity.” A collection of essays, “Arguably,“ came out in September 2011 and he was planning a ”book-length meditation on malady and mortality.” He appeared in a 2010 documentary about the topical singer Phil Ochs.

Survived by his second wife, author Carol Blue, and by his three children (Alexander, Sophia and Antonia), Hitchens had well crafted ideas about posterity, clarified years ago when he saw himself referred to as “the late” Christopher Hitchens in print. For the May 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, before his illness, Hitchens submitted answers for the Proust Questionnaire, a probing and personal survey for which the famous have revealed everything from their favorite color to their greatest fear.

His vision of earthly bliss: “To be vindicated in my own lifetime.”

His ideal way to die: “Fully conscious, and either fighting or reciting (or fooling around).”

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16212418

Christopher Hitchens dies at 62 after suffering cancer

2011/12/16 08:48 ET

Vanity Fair's editor said those who read him felt they knew him

British-born author, literary critic and journalist Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62.

He died from pneumonia, a complication of the oesophageal cancer he had, at a Texas hospital.

Vanity Fair magazine, which announced his death, said there would "never be another like Christopher".

He is survived by his wife, Carol Blue, and their daughter, Antonia, and his children from a previous marriage, Alexander and Sophia.

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter described the writer as someone "of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar".

"Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."

Hitchens was born in Portsmouth in 1949 and graduated from Oxford in 1970.

He began his career as a journalist in Britain in the 1970s and later moved to New York, becoming contributing editor to Vanity Fair in November 1992.

'Cynical contrarian'

He was diagnosed with cancer in June 2010, and documented his declining health in his Vanity Fair column.

In an August 2010 essay for the magazine he wrote: "I love the imagery of struggle.

"I sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risking my life for the good of others, instead of just being a gravely endangered patient."

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight programme, in November that year, he reflected on a life that he knew would be cut short: "It does concentrate the mind, of course, to realise that your life is more rationed than you thought it was."

Radicalised by the 1960s, Hitchens was often arrested at political rallies and was kicked out of the Labour Party over his opposition to the Vietnam War.

He became a correspondent for the Socialist Workers Party's International Socialism magazine.

In later life he moved away from the left. Following the September 11 attacks he argued with Noam Chomsky and others who suggested that US foreign policy had helped cause the tragedy.

He supported the Iraq War and backed George W Bush for re-election in 2004.

It led to him being accused of betrayal: one former friend called him "a lying, opportunistic, cynical contrarian", another "a drink-sodden ex-Trotskyist popinjay".

But he could dish out scathing critiques himself. Bill Clinton he called "a cynical, self-seeking ambitious thug", Henry Kissinger a war criminal and Mother Teresa a fraudulent fanatic.

In the case of Kissinger, there is proof of it--which Anthony Mascarenhas was instrumental in revealing

'A great voice'

He also famously fell out with his brother, the Mail on Sunday journalist Peter Hitchens, though the pair were later reconciled.

Hitchens could be a loyal friend. He stood by the author Salman Rushdie during the furore that followed the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses.

Writing on Twitter after the announcement of Hitchens' death, Mr Rushdie said: "Goodbye, my beloved friend. A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops."

Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair publicly debated religion with Hitchens at the Munk Debate in Toronto in November 2010.

"Christopher Hitchens was a complete one-off, an amazing mixture of writer, journalist, polemicist, and unique character," said Mr Blair.

"He was fearless in the pursuit of truth and any cause in which he believed. And there was no belief he held that he did not advocate with passion, commitment and brilliance.

"He was an extraordinary, compelling and colourful human being whom it was a privilege to know."

The MP Denis McShane was a student at Oxford with Hitchens.

He said: "Christopher just swam against every tide. He was a supporter of the Polish and Czech resistance of the 1970s, he supported Mrs Thatcher because he thought getting rid of the Argentinian fascist junta was a good idea.

"He was a cross between Voltaire and Orwell. He loved words.

"He could throw words up into the sky, they fell down in a marvellous pattern."

Prolific writer

The publication of his 2007 book God Is Not Great made him a major celebrity in his adopted homeland of the United States, and he happily took on the role of the country's best-known atheist.

He maintained his devout atheism after being diagnosed with cancer, telling one interviewer: "No evidence or argument has yet been presented which would change my mind. But I like surprises."

The author and prominent atheist Richard Dawkins described him as the "finest orator of our time" and a "valiant fighter against all tyrants including God".

He said Hitchens had been a "wonderful mentor in a way".

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who once worked as an intern for Hitchens, said: "Christopher Hitchens was everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious.

"He will be massively missed by everyone who values strong opinions and great writing."

Hitchens wrote for numerous publications including The Times Literary Supplement, the Daily Express, the London Evening Standard, Newsday and The Atlantic.

He was the author of 17 books, including The Trial of Henry Kissinger, How Religion Poisons Everything, and a memoir, Hitch-22.

A collection of his essays, Arguably, was released this year.

[Ban Hammer 13,508]

duplicate topics merged.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Wonder if he is still an Anti-theist now.

I actually thought the guy was refreshing at times, although I really didn't pay that much attention to him, unless he was laying pipe to the phonies and hypocrites on the left.

[웃 910]

Wonder if he is still an Anti-theist now.

Now he's long gone. His inner body soul dimensional life forms did not evaporate and transport into an intergalactic spaceship piloted by God and travel to an unknown location to live forever (along with the other 150,000 people that die a day!) Sounds so ridiculously man invented that you would have to be extremely brainwashed since childbirth to believe such a childish tale.

Hitchens body is not on fire while he screams in agony forever in the eternal fiery torture chamber that God sent him to. Talk about a psychotic, cruel, make believe ending to a short life on earth for something as petty a crime as uncertainty.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Now he's long gone. His inner body soul dimensional life forms did not evaporate and transport into an intergalactic spaceship piloted by God and travel to an unknown location to live forever (along with the other 150,000 people that die a day!) Sounds so ridiculously man invented that you would have to be extremely brainwashed since childbirth to believe such a childish tale.

Hitchens body is not on fire while he screams in agony forever in the eternal fiery torture chamber that God sent him to. Talk about a psychotic, cruel, make believe ending to a short life on earth for something as petty a crime as uncertainty.

Proof?

http://www.near-death.com/

[웃 910]

Proof?

I'll repeat what Mark said a while back: "I'm not the one with the crazy beliefs!"

In other words, why should I prove my logical coherent belief that after a body is declared dead it is dead.

It's your job to prove that 2 intergalactic spaceships come visit this planet every night at midnight to transport the 150,000 people that die a day. With about 80 to 90% going hellbound to the eternal torture fire chamber piloted by "Devil" and the other 10 to 20% going heavenbound to the eternal happy place piloted by "God".

http://www.near-death.com/

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I wish I cared.

Ya, I still don't.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I'll repeat what Mark said a while back: "I'm not the one with the crazy beliefs!"

It seems that you are the one that came to the unpopular conclusion, by a staggering 6:1, and with the fall of Communism, that ratio continues to increase.

[Danno 1,228]

intergalactic spaceships ... LI where do you get this stuff?

[Danno 1,228]

Wonder if he is still an Anti-theist now.

I actually thought the guy was refreshing at times, although I really didn't pay that much attention to him, unless he was laying pipe to the phonies and hypocrites on the left.

I rather enjoyed his argumentative vigor combined with a keen sense of wit and humor.

I recall him being interviewed perhaps by Charlie Rose and at that time it was Clear his days were numbered.

When asked if there were any chance he might have a death-bed conversion towards a belief in God.... he maintained -absolutely not and he went on.... "If you hear of any such event, know it is the Drugs speaking and not me."

It's quite remarkable how one can chart his course into the "unknown".... with such confidence,

[Dakine10 5,452]

It's quite remarkable how one can chart his course into the "unknown".... with such confidence,

I agree with that statement, but it wouldn't just apply it to atheists. I'm always impressed by those who are absolute in their belief in what lies beyond.

[Danno 1,228]

I agree with that statement, but it wouldn't just apply it to atheists. I'm always impressed by those who are absolute in their belief in what lies beyond.

I hear ya.

[Misha & Ira 113]

I'll repeat what Mark said a while back: "I'm not the one with the crazy beliefs!"

In other words, why should I prove my logical coherent belief that after a body is declared dead it is dead.

It's your job to prove that 2 intergalactic spaceships come visit this planet every night at midnight to transport the 150,000 people that die a day. With about 80 to 90% going hellbound to the eternal torture fire chamber piloted by "Devil" and the other 10 to 20% going heavenbound to the eternal happy place piloted by "God".

This is the only thing you can say. Mr. Science has no evidence to back his claims....only his beliefs.

[Danno 1,228]

This is the only thing you can say. Mr. Science has no evidence to back his claims....only his beliefs.

He cringes to admit it but.... he too is propelled by "faith".